Mark Fidrych Memorial Cache Traditional Cache
Mark Fidrych Memorial Cache
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Cache is located in a beautiful spot. The difficulty is parking access. There is a City of Milford "pocket park" at the SEM Retirement Community on South Milford Road. Parking is marked with a City of Milford sign and you can park in this lot and cross the road (please be very careful when crossing the road). This location overlooks Valley View Nature Preserve. The nature preserve below the overlook is open to the public and you can visit their website at www.valleyviewcampus.org.
Mark Fidrych made the Tigers as a non-roster invitee out of the 1976 spring training. He went on to win 19 games, led the league in ERA (2.34) and complete games (24), was the starting pitcher in that year's All-Star Game, won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, and finished second in voting for the Cy Young Award.
In the process Fidrych also captured the imagination of fans with his antics on the field. He would crouch down on the pitcher's mound and fix cleat marks, what became known as "manicuring the mound", talk to himself, talk to the ball, aim the ball like a dart, strut around the mound after every out, and throw back balls that "had hits in them," insisting they be removed from the game.
Unfortunately Fidrych’s very promising career was cut short due to knee and shoulder injuries in 1977. After a few attempts at a comeback, he was forced to retire in 1980 at the age of 29.
Sadly on April 13, 2009 Mark Fidrych was found dead, beneath his dump truck. He appeared to have been working on the truck at the time of the accident.
On June 19, 2009, Jessica Fidrych honored her father at Comerica Park by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Prior to throwing the first pitch, Jessica "manicured the mound" just like her father.
Did I mention that he had a fun, cool and famous nickname? If you don’t already know it Google it and it should provide you with a laugh and the connection to the cache. Enjoy the cache and the location.
Congrats to dewayneandcarla and Ratliff_Family for FTF!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur uvag vf va gur "avpxanzr"
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures